Joe Oliver

[Natural Resources, June 19th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times, Canada is immensely fortunate to have huge natural resources, including oil and gas.

We are talking about moving oil south. We are talking about possibly moving it west and north as well as east.

It is a market-driven economy. When the economics support it, we would be absolutely delighted to see pipelines moving east as well as west, north and south to bring jobs and economic growth to this country.

[Points of Order, June 18th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, last Thursday evening, I rose on a question of personal privilege to say that two members had directed a Nazi salute against the Prime Minister when he stood to vote. I did not name the individual members as a matter of courtesy because their gestures followed a very long day of votes. Also, I did not mention the Liberal Party by name, since I did not believe then and do not believe now that the members' behaviour would be acceptable to members of that party, in particular its interim leader, nor indeed to any party in the House. My purpose was to comment on an utterly unacceptable incident which I personally found to be exceptionally offensive, and to preclude it from happening again.

However, after I spoke, the member for Malpeque rose to say that he had merely waved at the Prime Minister. Then on Friday an article appeared in The Guardian in which the member stated that there were no salutes from his side and that he was peeved and insulted. He also said that not naming anyone created a controversy. Furthermore, the article referred to comments in the House from the member for Bourassa and the member for Richmond—Arthabaska, who said I was blaming the entire opposition by not naming the individuals.

While I had not wanted to prolong this, the member's denial and his and other members' demands for identification of the individuals involved compel me to respond. It was in fact the member for Malpeque and the member for Vancouver Centre who raised their arms in a rigid position at a 45° angle, clearly the gesture of a Nazi salute. There was no ambiguity. When I saw it, I said “disgusting” in their direction several times and they did not ask what I found so offensive. Later, when I rose on my question of privilege, the member for Vancouver Centre left the House, only to return later to stand for awhile behind the curtains in the corridor.

There are members in this House whose relatives fought and died for Canada in the Second World War and others whose relatives perished in the Holocaust. Such a vile and universally condemned gesture is particularly shocking in this place of honour and tradition. The heat of partisanship never justifies a vicious personal attack that sullies the reputation of our parliamentary democracy.

I had hoped the members responsible would have apologized to the House on Thursday, or at least remained silent and then apologized to me privately. That would have been the decent and smart thing to do. Since this was not to be, I call on them to apologize now. Doing the honourable thing would permit us all to move on.

[The Environment, June 18th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, under current legislation on responsible resource development, our government will invest more than $160 million to improve environmental protection, marine protection and pipeline safety by doubling the number of inspections—

[The Environment, June 18th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the northern gateway project is currently before a joint review panel, which will study all aspects of the proposal to ensure that it is safe for Canadians and safe for the environment.

Our officials analyzed the plan and agreed that the proposal was safe for the environment with certain mitigation measures. This is precisely the purpose of the review and it happens in the case of every review. Our government is further increasing pipeline safety by devoting significant funds to increasing inspections by 50% and doubling the number of audits.

[Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, June 14th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, it is with some regret that I have to inform you that two members opposite, during the cheering when our side was about to vote, used a Nazi salute pointed in the direction of the Prime Minister. I cannot believe they really intended the full implications of that and so I will not mention who they are. This is intolerable behaviour and it should never happen again.

[The Environment, June 13th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the responsible resource development plan and our legislation to support it will enhance, in a very significant way, environmental protection. There are $160 million going into environmental protection to enhance maritime safety and pipeline safety, as the hon. member knows very well.

[Natural Resources, June 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, a new study from the Conference Board of Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada has found that, contrary to the ideological views of the NDP leader, massive investment in the oil and gas and mining sectors is fueling growth in industries ranging from manufacturing to engineering.

Pierre Cléroux of the BDC said:

It is interesting to note that the economic boom linked to oil and gas and mining activities is benefiting many industries--not only in Western Canada, but throughout the country.

The NDP's divisive view that Canada's resource industries are a disease is irresponsible—

[The Environment, June 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the opposition parties claim, bringing our regulatory system into the 21st century will strengthen environmental protection rather than gut it, will generate significant jobs and economic growth rather than hollow out our economy, and will provide prosperity and security for Canadians for future generations. It is not an either/or proposition, jobs versus the environment. The direction our government is taking is clear: to secure prosperity for Canadians while strengthening environmental protection. That is exactly what Bill C-38 would do.

[Natural Resources, May 31st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP leader seems to consider himself an expert on the oil sands, even though this is his first visit to the important region. It is unfortunate that he did not first take the time to see the project for himself before he endorsed job-killing policies like shutting down the oil sands by 2030. Had he visited, he would not have perhaps insulted western premiers and advocated unsound and reckless economic policies that pit one region against the other.

[Natural Resources, May 30th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we will be bringing the National Energy Board in line with other federal regulatory bodies, including the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. We believe that for major projects, it can have a significant impact on the economy and on the environment and that elected officials responsible to the people, through Parliament, should have the ultimate decision, rather than appointed officials. Canadians have the right to know who is responsible for what and to be held accountable.